Restauranting, front of the house, How To Make Better Tips

Regardless of the type of restaurant you work in, ways to make better tips remain the same. Whether you work at a fast food restaurant or a fine dining restaurant, the basic tenants of making more money are universal.

• TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More. Practice teamwork with your fellow employees. Give your staff mate a helping hand today. Tomorrow he or she may return the favor. The value of working together is immeasurable.

• Smile. A common saying in the industry is, “The wattage of your smile is in direct proportion to the amount of tips you receive.” Take this saying to heart. Smiling will help everyone you deal with be in a better mood. It’s hard to stay a grouch when confronted with someone with a smile on his or her face.

• Validate customers’ choices. People like to believe they’ve made a good choice when they order. Validate your customers’ choices. Use verbiage like, “Oh, you’re going to love the grilled salmon. It’s a specialty of our restaurant.” Don’t be condescending. Reinforce the positive. If you have a favorite menu item, recommend it. People will see your enthusiasm.

• Be a professional. Being a server is not just a job it’s a profession. Be proud of what you do. Being a waiter or waitress is a highly skilled occupation. The best servers are ones that take pride in what they do. And it shows!

• Have a positive attitude. Everyone has bad days. Learn to leave your bad day at the door when you arrive for work. It IS very hard to be in a good mood when your cat just died. Practice putting on your positive work attitude when you walk in for your shift. This takes work but it will pay off to you both monetarily and emotionally.

• Be sincere. If you say to a deuce that just sat down, “Hi, how are you today?” Be sincere when you say it and listen carefully to their responses. People go out to eat in restaurants because they want to be catered to and cared about. A customer may reply to your query with the information that her daughter is not doing well or they just had the day from Hell at their office. Be positive in your responses. A simple “I’m sorry to hear that, best wishes to her” or “Well you are here now, lets see what we can do to make the rest of your day better,” goes a long way. Customers will remember that they had an interaction with someone that cared.

• Be confident. Confidence is a big tip-getter. Not egotism or arrogance, but confidence. You as the server should be comfortable and be able to handle any situation you’re given. If you are a shy person, check out Toastmasters. Practice your public speaking skills and make sure you know what you are talking about. The more information you have about the menu you are working with and the restaurant you work at, the more professional you will come across as being.